


Aaron Minyard Vs. Calculus

by Lover_of_Fairy_Tails



Series: My AFTG Canon Universe Continuing Fics [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Aaron and Neil not really being friends yet, Aaron's third year at Palmetto, But they are getting better, Canon Compliant, Canon Homophobic Language, Canon mentions of murder, Canon mentions of sexual abuse, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-08-27 10:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16700638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lover_of_Fairy_Tails/pseuds/Lover_of_Fairy_Tails
Summary: Aaron Minyard had been putting off taking Calculus after receiving his one and only near failing grade in pre-cal. Now in his third year at Palmetto he feels like his life has calmed down enough to finally attempt the class.Except he comes to regret that decision as soon as he walks into the classroom and figures out he is sharing a class with someone he would rather spend much less time with.





	1. Chapter 1

Aaron had been putting off taking calculus for the past three semesters. It wasn’t because he hated math. No, if he hated math he wouldn’t be getting a degree in biochemistry. It also wasn’t because he was inherently bad at math. On the contrary, he excelled at doing the equations needed for his science courses.

The reason was actually very simple. He had received his worst grade ever in pre-cal his first semester at Palmetto, and he’d been worried that if he received another low score like that his prospects of ever becoming a doctor would be null and void. That fear wasn’t unfounded either. Just that one bad grade had dropped his GPA lower than most of the other students hoping to get into medical school, and with how competitive the schools were that was all it took to put him a few steps behind.

He could still remember the fear which had gripped his heart and the ugly words which had suspiciously sounded like an echo of his mother’s voice at seeing his barely passing grade. You aren’t good enough. You will never be good enough. Why even try? You will just fail in the end. You’re a piece of shit Minyard, might as well give up now.

Wallowing in self-doubt Aaron dropped the calculus class he had been planning on taking the next semester but kept all the other classes required for his major. He wasn’t sure if he would ever stop hearing his mother’s voice telling him he wasn’t good enough, but fuck her because he wasn’t giving up on himself like she had. So the following semesters he continued to trudge through his general biology and chemistry classes along with all of the other introductory classes freshman are required to take. 

A year and a half later his GPA had recovered, and his standings were on par with all the other pre-med students. In thanks to many different factors. For one, he had learned how to study better and use his time more wisely. Also thanks to Katelyn for finally convincing him that using tutors didn’t mean he wasn’t smart enough to do it on his own. Everybody had different strengths and weaknesses, and the tutors were there to help him with the parts he struggled with.

His initial plan had been to take calculus last semester since he needed the course to move onto some of his upper-level classes. Then Thanksgiving happened and his life was ripped apart at the seams. He knew that his brother’s life in foster care must have been hard, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine just how bad it truly was. Aaron, from dealing with his mother, could understand the violent and rash tendencies of physical abuse. Sexual abuse of the other hand was something he could never fathom, and just thinking of his brother having to endure that made a white-hot furious rage burn through him.

So he postponed the class again because he didn’t want to worry about it on top of dealing with seeing Andrew sober after two years and preparing for Drake’s murder trial. A decision for which he was thankful for every day last semester as the soap opera inspiring drama that had become the Foxes lives continued to unfold. Seriously one kid on the run from the mafia was enough in his opinion, two was completely uncalled for. Especially when the second one was a loudmouth who can’t keep out of other people’s business. 

After that whirlwind of a semester ended with them winning championships, Riko’s death, and a jury ruling Drake’s death a justifiable homicide Aaron felt like life had calmed down enough to finally attempt calculus. So now on the second morning of classes in his third year at Palmetto, he set out for the math building and arrived in his 30 person classroom about five minutes before it began. Now, whenever he walked into a class he felt a sharp tug between his days in high school which he spent as an unruly student always sitting in the back and his present self which was a hell-bent student intent on succeeding. Since calculus wasn’t as important to his major as his science classes he decided to sit somewhere in the middle, but as he looked around to the remaining open desk his eyes caught on something nauseatingly familiar and he froze.

Sitting in the back corner of the room was the unwelcome sight of his now Vice-captain Neil Josten, and seriously what the hell was Coach smoking when he made that decision. Neil's head was bent down and he was scribbling away in his notebook. If you didn’t know him it would seem like he was completely absorbed in whatever he was doodling, but Aaron could see how his body was angled towards the door like he would be ready to bolt at any moment. Neil had tried most of last year to cover up his nature, but some of his tells were obvious. Still, he was focused enough that he hadn’t noticed Aaron walk into the room yet, and Aaron contemplated turning around and walking right the fuck back out. He already had to spend an obscene amount of time with him thanks to his brother’s inability to keep it in his pants. Adding three extra hours a week on top of that was just pure torture.

After a brief internal debate with himself about whether he really needed to take this class or not he gave the finger to whichever gods had cursed him and took the desk as far from Neil as he could get. After sitting down he kept his eyes forward, pointedly not looking around the classroom even though he swore he could feel eyes on the back of his head.

Thankfully their professor came in and started class a few minutes later. Which meant Aaron could focus his attention on her, which made ignoring Neil much easier. Their professor told them all she had planned for the day was to go over their syllabus, which she went through very quickly. As soon as she released them Aaron grabbed his backpack and shot out of his seat. He wanted to get out of that classroom as quickly as possible so that Neil understood he had absolutely zero intentions of talking to him.

When Aaron felt like he had put enough distance between himself and that class he slowed down as he made his way over to the athlete’s cafeteria for lunch. Unfortunately, this was the most common time for lunch, and most of the Foxes had scheduled their classes to avoid it. As far as Aaron knew he was the only one unlucky enough to not be able to. Although he wasn’t sure if that was completely true since he had only checked with Katelyn, Nicky, and Matt. He groaned internally when he reached the cafeteria and saw that it was already ridiculously packed. He got in line and hoped that by the time he got his food a table would open up.

By some miracle a table did open up and he sent his best get the hell away glare towards the other students who had spotted it also. As the students quickly backed off he wondered which part of himself was the most fearful: his reputation as a Fox, his now infamy as a person who had used an Exy racquet for murder, or if people just mistook him for Andrew. He found that he honestly didn’t care which one it was as long as that shit didn’t follow him out of Palmetto and fuck with his future.

He ate blissfully uninterrupted for only a few moments before a tray loudly clanged down on his table. He looked up ready to tell whoever it was to piss off but quickly altered it whenever he saw it was Neil sitting down in the opposite chair from him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He asked instead.

Neil looked up at him with a look he could only describe as disdain and didn’t even bother to answer Aaron’s question out loud. The only response he gave was a short shake of the sandwich he had just picked up. Aaron felt his lip curl at the gesture, and the accompanying thoughts it brought with it. It was something his brother would have done, and Aaron wondered if Neil and his brother had always had similar mannerisms or if they were starting to rub off on each other. He had to stop his brain from unhelpfully supplying that it was a normal thing for couples to do.

“I don’t give a shit, you’re not sitting with me.”

Neil made an exaggerated show of looking around the overcrowded cafeteria before turning back to Aaron and saying, “Do you see any other open tables?”

Aaron didn’t bother looking around he already knew the answer. He really didn’t want to share his table with Neil but knew that he couldn’t intimidate him into leaving either. “Whatever. Just don’t talk to me.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Neil said then bit into his sandwich.

Aaron and Neil sat in blissful silence studiously ignoring each other as they ate their lunches until Aaron had an awful realization. If Neil was here now that meant this was also his lunch hour, which meant it wasn’t just three extra hours every week he would have to spend with Neil but six. The thought was too much to bear silently. “Doesn’t someone else have lunch at this time you can bother instead?”

Neil shook his head. “Andrew and Kevin have lunch last block.”

“So does Nicky,” Aaron added.

“And I know Allison mentioned that her, Dan, Renee, Matt scheduled their lunches together for the next block.” A disgusted look crossed his face and he added, “I don't know if any of the freshmen have lunch now, but even if they did I wouldn’t eat with them.”

Aaron agreed with him on that point. The freshman sucked worse than Neil did.

So no one else had this lunch hour which meant it would just be Neil and him alone for the rest of the semester. Aaron sent out a silent curse to every deity he knew and went back to ignoring Neil as he ate his lunch.

It was going to be a long semester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will cover the whole fall semester, set between their calculus class and their lunch table.  
> -  
> So in the part where I talk about Aaron understanding physical violence I don't want that to come across as me or Aaron condoning it, just understanding.  
> Aaron had grown used to his mother's abuse and can understand why she would hit him. (because he was abused)


	2. Chapter 2

It was only the second week of classes but Aaron could already use a break from school. Last Friday the Foxes had played their first game of the year, and everything about it had been draining. In the weeks before there had been a lot of debate in Exy news about whether the Foxes could hold on to that spark from last year and remain a dominating force, or if they would be a one-hit wonder. As Aaron had watched practice after practice devolve into in-fighting he too wondered the same thing. 

The six new freshman, which included a defensive dealer, an offensive dealer, a backliner, a goalie, and two strikers were an absolute mess. The ones who were good, like Jack, couldn’t be bothered to try to get along with most of their teammates, and the ones that did try to incorporate themselves into the team weren’t good enough to stand against NCAA Class 1 athletes yet. Which had become abundantly clear as soon as the game against Breckenridge got its ugly start. Like they always did the Jackal’s played dirty and used every trick in the book to tear the Foxes line apart. The older Foxes could hold their own against them, but the freshman who weren’t used to how rough college level games were played quickly succumbed to the pressure. Another major problem was that their striker line couldn’t stop fighting with each other. With only half of the team able to keep their heads above water the Jackal’s quickly took control of the game.

It surprised Aaron that it took till the first part of the second half until for one of the Foxes to lose their cool and get ejected. What was even more surprising was that it was their new backliner who kept to herself mostly. Wymack made use of the timeout and threw all the other freshman off the court as well. As he sent the older Foxes out, he ordered them to show the jackass freshman what it looked like to play as a cohesive team.

With the freshman’s problems off the court the Foxes finally got a foothold in the game and ended it with a two-point victory. Even though the Foxes had won the reviews about their chances for the year were still mixed; with some journalist saying the freshman would put too much of a wedge into their game, and others saying that the freshman didn’t matter since the older Foxes could hold the line on their own still.

Aaron wasn’t ready to cast his opinion yet. On one hand, the game had been an eye opener for the freshman, and it seemed like most of them finally realized they needed to get their shit together. On the other hand, the problems with their striker line would be an issue that wouldn't get resolved quickly. Jack absolutely hated Neil. He didn’t think he was worthy of being the Vice-captain and didn’t think he was good enough to be “Kevin Day’s New Partner” as the press liked to refer to him. Because of this Jack refused to cooperate with him in practice, and during the game had taken and missed hard shots on the goal instead of passing to Neil who had been in a better position to score.

Jack and Neil weren’t the only problems either, Kevin had issues with the other freshman striker. The girl wasn’t very good, and couldn’t seem to get a hold of the precision Raven Drills the striker line practiced no matter how much time Neil spent trying to help her. Kevin refused to spend his extra time trying to teach her, and also refused to stoop down to her level which left them completely incompatible on the court. Jack following Kevin’s lead also refused to make extra attempts to help her out. Meaning Neil was the only striker she could easily work with. 

Kevin and Neil’s own problems with the freshman strikers led them to having problems with each other. Which led them to be constantly screaming at each other in a mixture of English and French.

Evidently Neil and Kevin’s bickering had gotten so bad that Andrew refused to go to night practices with them until they worked their shit out. Last night either out of sheer boredom or possible just to check up on his family Andrew had shown up at the dorm Aaron shared with Nicky and Matt. At first, he just sat there drinking one of Matt’s beers he had stolen from the fridge while they worked their way through a video game, but quickly enough Nicky badgered him into taking a remote and playing also.

Around midnight Andrew responded to a text and shortly after Neil showed up at their door. He was probably only there to collect Andrew, but Nicky and Matt were so excited to see him that they convinced him to stay and play a few rounds with them. Aaron didn’t mind his presence, after a year of him being included in their ‘family’, he was used to these benign interactions with him. What he did mind was how Neil took up position on the floor leaning back against the sofa right between Andrew’s legs, and how easily Andrew adjusted himself to accommodate him.

Which if that wasn’t just a metaphor for them for the past year, he didn’t know what was.

They called it a night and headed off to bed around one. The next morning Aaron cursed their decision to stay up that late when they knew they had morning practice at six. A lack of a sufficient amount of sleep was definitely one of the reasons he felt like he needed a break from classes already. At least he got a small reprieve when his anatomy professor announced that they would only be taking a quiz today, and after they would be free to go.

It took him only twenty minutes to finish the quiz, and after packing up he decided to make his way over to calculus early. That way he could use the extra time to get some reading done while he waited for the class to start. When he arrived at the classroom it was still occupied, so he sat on one of the empty benches outside and cracked open his book.

About twenty minutes before class was set to begin the first of the other students started to wander up, including Neil. Aaron watched from his peripheral as Neil sat on an empty bench on the opposite wall, and pulled out his journal to occupy his time.

A few minutes later a girl Aaron recognized from their class showed up and sat beside Neil. The close proximity with which the girl sat next to him caused Neil to look up from his journal. Which was clearly what she had been hoping for. With his attention now on her she launched into conversation. She asked him if he was on the Exy team, which he confirmed. Then she told him how she had gone to one of the games last year and thought she recognized him but it was kind of difficult to tell without all of his gear on. Which sounded like complete bullshit to Aaron, since the school had plastered championship posters of them all around and Neil’s face wasn’t exactly hard to recognize.

Their conversation continued for a few minutes with the girl doing most of the talking, and Neil putting in the bare minimum effort. The sheer amount of information she knew about Exy and the Foxes was extensive and probably the only reason Neil was making an attempt at conversation at all. With his damn near one track mind Aaron wondered how his brother, who claimed to not feel anything for Exy, could tolerate speaking with him for more than five minutes. Then again maybe they didn’t do a lot of talking. Which made him think about what the hell they did do together, and oh fuck no. Stop, he did not need that mental image of his brother and Josten.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts just as the girl, in a slightly louder voice, asked, “Aren’t you on the Exy team also?"

If he hadn’t already been paying half-attention to their conversation he probably wouldn’t have realized she had been speaking to him. As it was he had been listening in, and couldn’t stop himself from looking up at her question. He found both her and Neil looking over at him. He debated about saying no just for the hell of it but decided the girl would probably hassle him more about it than it was worth. “Yes."

Her face lit up at his answer as if she hadn’t already known what it was going to be. “I thought so, but which twin are you? Aaron or Andrew?”

Aaron had been hearing this question for the past four years ever since Andrew moved to South Carolina, and he was tired of answering it. He, along with most other people, had assumed that Andrew’s armbands were a way to tell them apart. It wasn’t until this summer that the truth for his armbands had hit Aaron like a freight train. He knew that Drake’s abuse at Thanksgiving hadn’t been the first time, but it wasn’t until the trial that he realized just how far Andrew had gone in his attempt to hold onto Cass Spear.

“He’s Aaron,” Neil answered causing Aaron to finally shake himself out of the dark turn his thoughts had taken. They were both still looking at him; the girl with a look of slight relief, and Neil with a look of mild distaste. He was probably taking offense to the fact that anybody could confuse him with Andrew. 

“How come you guys don’t ever talk to each other in class?” The girl asked. Aaron’s immediate thought was why the fuck would they. He and Neil weren't friends. They were ‘family’ according to Nicky, but really what the hell did that even mean. No one had bothered to ask him if he wanted Neil or Kevin to be brought into their group by Andrew.

Before either of them could answer, which to be fair neither were going to, the girl spoke again, “I thought your team was really close. I mean everyone knows how you guys rented a cabin and spent spring break together after all that bad stuff happened.”

Aaron almost laughed out loud at that. ‘That bad stuff’ was putting the events of New York and Baltimore very lightly, and he wasn’t sure if she was trying to be cautious of Neil’s feelings or if she was just stupid.

Neil though seemed to have the opposite reaction; his expression closed off, and his body stiffened. The girl noticed the shift, and tried to comfort him after her own misstep by reaching out and placing her hands on his arm. “I bet that was just horrible. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for you.”

Neil lip curled as he looked from her face down to where her hands were clutched around his armband. “No, you can’t,” he said as he yanked his arm out of her grip and stormed away.

The girl watched him silently until he rounded the corner and was out of sight, then she looked at Aaron. The look on her face said she was more upset about causing Neil to leave rather than his rude dismissal. “I guess I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“He was tortured and nearly killed five months ago, what the fuck do you think?” Aaron asked with venom in his voice.

The girl looked stricken for a moment but recovered quickly. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but thankfully the other class let out just then and saved Aaron from having to deal with this anymore. He gathered up his backpack and made his way into the class without another word.

He really did need a vacation from all this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I will write a story where Neil "pretty boy" Josten isn't getting casually hit on - But it won't be this one.
> 
> FYI I am getting 99% of my background information for Nora's Extra Content:  
> Like Freshman striker Jack  
> Drake's murder trial happening in the beginning of the summer after the events of TKM. Also the only attendants being Aaron, Andrew, Nicky, and Neil.  
> \- At the trial is also where Aaron learns the just what Andrew put himself to keep Cass, and to keep Aaron away from Drake.  
> Neil changing his major to Math and Aaron studying Bio-Chem


	3. Chapter 3

A month of classes had gone by and Aaron had begrudgingly spent every one of his Tuesday and Thursday lunch breaks with Neil. At least they had found a routine that worked for them. It involved them leaving the classroom without talking, getting their food without talking, finding a table without talking, eating without talking, and then leaving. 

Sometimes when they reached the cafeteria it wasn’t completely packed yet and there was more than one table available, but through some unspoken decision they had decided to not be assholes and take up two tables. Though Aaron was one hundred percent certain it was something Andrew would be petty enough to do.

For the first time Aaron was looking forward to this lunch with Neil. Though it had nothing to do with his vice-captain, and everything to do with Katelyn. She had texted him earlier telling him that the class she and Marissa had during this period had been canceled and that they would be joining him for an early lunch.

When class let out Aaron left as quickly as possible not bothering to wait for Neil, which he never did, and hurried to the cafeteria. As soon as he stepped through the doors, he noticed his girlfriend. Mostly because she was up halfway out of her chair waving at him, but he liked to think it was because she would always immediately drawn his eye. He sent her a short wave of acknowledgment and went to get in line. As he waited, he thought about how this lunch would pan out. Katelyn had probably already warned Marissa that Neil would be there, and he wondered how she would react to him. She had been pissed at the way Neil had dissed her last November and according to Katelyn she still held a small grudge against him for it.

A few minutes after Aaron had joined the girls at the table Neil finally wandered into the cafeteria. Even though he knew Katelyn hadn’t decided on how she felt about him, especially after the library incident, she still excitedly waved him over to the table also.

A brief flash of confusion crossed his face when he noticed them, but it smoothed out quickly. 

“Hi Neil,” Katelyn greeted. “Did you get held up in class, or did Aaron just rush over here to see me as fast as he could?”

Aaron rolled his eyes at her teasing and Neil answered the question. “Yeah, a girl from class was asking me a question.”

Marissa who had been glowering ever since Neil arrived sarcastically asked, “And you actually talked to her? I thought you only talked to Foxes?”

If Neil felt any kind of shame about having his own words thrown back in his face he didn’t show it. “Yes, I talked to her, She was asking about our next game.”

Marissa tsked and went back to eating her lunch and pretending to ignore him. Which Neil seemed to be happy to do also. Though not a moment later under her breath she added, “So he’s only capable of talking about Exy, guess I dodged a bullet there. Besides no one wants to date anyone with that shitty attitude.”

“Well that’s not technically true,” Katelyn cut in.

“Katelyn,” Aaron said trying to cut her off. He didn’t want the conversation to turn in that direction.

It was too late though. “What do you mean?” Marissa asked.

Katelyn threw an apologetic look towards Aaron, then turned back to Marissa and said, “Well he is dating someone.”

“Who? Do I know them? Is it a Fox, I bet its Allison.”

“No it’s not Allison,” Katelyn told her, and then shot a look at Aaron which begged for help. She clearly didn’t want to out Neil and Andrew’s relationship, even though she was the one that dug herself into this hole. He just shrugged and gestured towards Neil in answer.

Marissa clearly got the hint that neither of them were going to answer, so she looked to Neil instead. He was doing a much better job than Marissa had done of ignoring the conversation, which just seemed to irritate her further. “Hey, excuse us we’re talking to you.”

Neil looked up from the orange he was peeling apart and returned her bitchy glare. “No, you were talking about me.”

Marissa looked ready to start swinging, and as much as Aaron would have liked to see that he didn’t want to get kicked out of the cafeteria more. “He’s dating Andrew.”

Marissa’s head whipped around so fast that Aaron was surprised she didn’t give herself whiplash. She stared at him with eyes wide. “What? Andrew? As in your twin Andrew?”

Aaron nodded. He didn’t want to say it again, he hated that he ever had to say it at all.

Marissa shot her wide-eyed look back to Neil. “You’re dating Andrew Minyard,” she exclaimed loud enough that Aaron was pretty sure at least half the cafeteria heard her. She was a cheerleader after all, and they were known for being loud.

Katelyn shushed her, which got her to lower her voice slightly as she asked, “Why didn’t you just say you were gay?”

Neil closed his eyes and shook his head. He gave off the impression that he was tired of having this conversation. “Because I’m not gay. I don’t swing.”

“But you’re dating Andrew,” Marissa pointed out.

Neil shrugged and went back to peeling apart his orange.

Marissa looked at Aaron with eyebrows raised at Neil’s non-answer like she expected him to clear things up. Honestly, he had no better answer for her, “Don’t bother. He is apparently too stupid to know what he is.”

“Fuck off Aaron,” Neil spat at him. “I’m not too stupid to know, I just don’t like anybody else.”

Aaron felt like taking a swing at him now too, but Marissa started again, “So when you say you don’t swing you mean you aren’t attracted to men or women?”

Neil thought about the question for a moment then gave her a semi-nod that was mostly just a shrug. It wasn’t much of an answer, but Marissa accepted it and went on, “But you are sexually attracted to Andrew correct?”

“Stop,” Aaron practically yelled at Neil, “Don’t answer that. I don’t need to hear about this.” He would rather suffer through countless shopping sprees with Nicky than hear Neil’s answer or let this conversation continue any further. He had been looking forward to his lunch with Katelyn and Neil and Marissa were doing their best to ruin it. 

“I wasn’t going to anyways,” Neil huffed at him, then he turned to Marissa. “I’m not talking about this anymore.”

“Whatever, but just so you know that there are other sexualities other than gay or straight. You should look into them if you are ever curious.”

Neil nodded at her. He looked somewhat appreciative, and Aaron had to wonder how this conversation had gone from Marissa being pissed at Neil to her giving him advice. Thankfully he was saved from thinking about Neil’s sexuality any longer when Katelyn asked everyone how their classes were going so far and diverting everyone attention elsewhere. For the rest of their lunch Marissa and Katelyn chatted happily, with Aaron commenting every now and then, and Neil adding to the conversation even less.

When it was nearly time to leave Marissa got a devilish smirk on her face and turned to face him. Aaron was completely sure he didn’t want to hear whatever it was she was going to say, and was proven right as soon as she opened her mouth and asked, “So, if Neil is dating your brother does that mean you two are going to be brother-in-law’s one day?”

Aaron's eyes went wide at the prospect. He hadn’t thought much about what his future with Andrew might entail. A year ago he probably would have said that he couldn’t foresee a future with his brother involved at all, but between them breaking their deal and their joint sessions with Dobson things were getting better. They might be getting better at snail's pace, but better all the same. Still, up until that exact moment in time, it had never even crossed his mind that Neil might be included in that future also.

With the thought of never being rid of Neil Josten Aaron was now officially done. He stood up, grabbed his tray, glared at Marissa, glared at Neil too just for good measure, and walked away from the table.

So much for having one enjoyable lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had been one scene I had in mind since I started writing this fic, but just couldn't get the wording down.  
> I knew I wanted this conversation with Marissa to happen, but I just didn't know how......


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is mentioned-So some use of homophobic language.

Aaron tried to be as subtle as possible as he craned his neck around to spot the grade on Neil’s paper. They were being handed back their first major test in their shared calculus class, and he was curious about how Neil’s score compared to his own 86. He knew that Neil was fairly competent in the class, but recently he’d been worn thin dealing with issues caused by the new freshman.

As the test was laid on Neil’s desk Aaron was loathed to see the 93 written in bright red ink across the top. He scoffed inwardly and turned back around in his chair. Damn Josten and his stupidly good math abilities, which apparently even Jack’s full-blown antagonism couldn’t hinder.

Jack’s issues with Neil had started day one of summer practices, but it wasn’t until a week before the Fall Banquet that his hatred had become fully realized. It started when the team gathered for a movie marathon Dan had mandated. She, along with the other more optimistic Foxes, believed that some forced time bonding would be beneficial for the team. Aaron believed that having all fifteen of them shoved into a dorm room would result in at least one black eye. Which he had voiced when Dan suggested her plan, but of course no one listened to him. So the night of the marathon they were stuck cramming the whole Exy team into the upperclassman girl’s dorm.

Two movies and a few bottles of vodka later the bonding experience turned into a full-blown gossip fest. The baby foxes, as some liked to refer to them not himself of course, had quickly picked up the Foxes habit of betting on anything and everything, and were taking the opportunity to wriggle out any information they could. With all the questions of who was dating who the conversation quickly turned to the rapidly approaching Fall Banquet. Nicky had jumped right in talking about some guy from his public relations class he was bringing, Matt and Dan had gone on and on about the matching suits they were wearing this year, and when asked Aaron told them that yes he was bringing Katelyn.

Surprisingly enough everything until that point had been going fine, with most of the Freshman getting along and fitting in. Which honestly Aaron didn’t need. He already had a group of people he was forced to spend time with and didn’t need to add six more to that list. Then Allison got a mischievous glint in her eye and she turned to ask Renee if she and Andrew were planning on upholding their tradition of going together. Which Renee probably would have answered gracefully revealing no personal details, but before she got the chance a drunk and excited Nicky answered that of course they weren’t. Leading the Freshman to ask why Nicky was so adamant they wouldn’t be. It seemed they, just as most of the Foxes before, believed that there must be something going on between the two based off the fact that Andrew actually tolerated her. Aaron would have laughed at how far off they were if it weren’t for the fact that he had been that clueless once too. Now it was blatantly obvious to him just how much his brother was wrapped up in Josten.

At the Freshman’s question Allison’s mischievous glint turned into a full-blown grin as she answered, ‘Probably because the monster will be bringing his boyfriend.’

All six mouths dropped. Apparently, it hadn’t once crossed any of their minds that Andrew might be gay. One of them, who clearly didn’t fear for their life, asked if they knew Andrew’s boyfriend. Which Nicky oh so helpfully answered, ‘I sure hope so, he is your Vice-captain after all’.

And like they were in some kind of shitty cartoon all six mouths dropped again, and this time they didn’t seem like they were going to get over it as quickly. Having the Andrew is gay, and Neil is his boyfriend truth bombs dropped on them all at once was too much for their tiny little minds to handle. Aaron, uninterested in the freshman’s gaping expressions, turned to where Neil was scowling at Nicky and a smug looking Allison. He was clearly pissed. Which made Aaron wonder if his brother was also pissed at having his relationship outed, but like always Andrew’s impassive expression betrayed nothing.

Maybe one day he would have the ability to read Andrew’s apathetic face the way Neil seemed to.

His attention was brought back to the Freshman when a stream of some of the vilest shit Aaron had ever heard, which was saying a lot, came spewing out of Jack’s mouth. For a second everyone sat frozen unable to do anything but stare at him. Then Matt broke the spell by yanking Jack off the floor and dragging him out into the hallway with Dan following close behind. 

It was a long while before Matt and Dan came back into the room that night, but whatever conversation they had with Jack did absolutely nothing to hamper his loathing of Neil. The only thing it seemed to do was make him aware the upperclassmen wouldn’t tolerate any of his hateful comments about Neil, his sexuality, or his relationship with Andrew. Which in turn only made Jack more conniving and underhanded about his insults.

At first Aaron didn’t really give a shit about the whole situation. No one besides Sheena ever listened to what Jack had to say, and Jack’s antagonism was only ever directed at Neil. Then last week things changed. It happened one day after practice as they were changing out in the locker rooms. Nicky was loudly talking about how much he missed Eric and exactly what he wanted to do to him when they were reunited again. Aaron’s initial reaction had been to tell him to shut up because he didn’t want to hear that shit, but before he could open his mouth Jack beat him to it.

Jack sneered at Nicky as he told him nobody wanted to hear about how fucked up in the head he was. Aaron looked over to Nicky just in time to see him waver for the briefest of seconds before brushing off the comment like he normally did. Jack's words had affected him, and Aaron was hit with the sudden realization that he had said and was about to say very much the same thing. The knowledge almost sent him reeling. What did it say about him that he treated his cousin the same way their vilest teammate did.

The answer was nothing fucking good.

It wasn’t even like he had a hatred of Nicky’s sexuality or his relationship. He just never understood why Nicky would be so out and loud about something that Aaron had only ever seen people be taunted and beaten up for. In high school, even the slightest hint that you might be homosexual would end with you getting the shit kicked out of you in the locker room. Things were obviously different now with the Foxes, but Aaron’s knee jerk instincts hadn’t gone away.

He hadn’t really ever thought about the things he was saying to Nicky before, they were just things people said. Though knowing what Nicky’s parents put him through he should have realized that his words would have some effect on him, especially coming from family. He hated himself that it took listening to his asshole teammate to make him realize that he himself had been an asshole this whole time.

His mother had been right all along, he was the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was torn about how/what it would take to make Aaron notice he was being such an ass to Nicky. The real answer is probably sessions with Bee, but I would like to think he would hear Jack saying some awful homophobic shit and be like damn that's fucked up. Wait, damn I said that shit too, that's fucked up.
> 
> Then I was torn about him apologizing. Honestly, I don't think he would. I just think he would stop himself from making the comments one day and never do it again. Then Nicky would say something really lewd about Erik and look towards Aaron because he knows his cousin will have something to say about that, but the comment never comes. Then Nicky will realize that the comments haven't been coming for a while now.
> 
> I'm also getting my Aaron isn't actually homophobic, just has a built-in knee-jerk reaction straight from Nora. Remember this was 2006-2007 and talk like that, especially among male locker rooms, was very real.
> 
> HMU if you have any comments or concerns or just want to talk. <3


	5. Chapter 5

Neil had finally punched Jack in his face.

The Ravens were a mess this year after losing Coach Tetsuji and their so-called king, and it was going to take them more than a few months to recover from all of the fucked up shit that had been going on inside The Nest. Though that wasn’t to say they were terrible now. They were still winning most of their games, but their perfect synchronisms from years before had been lost and were now relying on pure spiteful aggression and talent to win.

In the weeks before their first game against each other this season the Ravens had been openly hostile towards them in their interviews. Claiming the Foxes win in last year’s National Championship was a fluke, and that they were ready to put them back in their place. The Raven’s arrogance could be chalked up to anger-fueled nothings if it wasn’t for the fact that the Foxes had pulled off more than just a few of their wins by the skin of their teeth. Leaving many fans and reporters alike to be looking to this game for confirmation of if the Foxes really were just a fluke or the worthy National Champions.

The Foxes were doing a good job of acting as if none of this pressure was getting to them, but Aaron could see tensions running high and patience wearing thin. The Freshman who had just now gotten into the swing of things were letting their nerves show every time they tripped over their own footwork in practice, Kevin and Neil both kept getting haunted faraway looks anytime it was brought up that they would be returning to Evermore for the game, and the Upperclassmen ached with want to win so they could solidify to the Exy world that they were in fact the real deal. Andrew was the only one seemingly unaffected.

There was only one Fox who seemed to be thriving amidst of all this stress, Jack. He was taking every opportunity he got to try and tear Neil down. If Neil missed a goal, if he flinched to hard when Nicky snuck up on him, or if he zoned out in meetings. Jack was always there to point out his shortcomings. As if undermining him wasn’t enough he had also started to ‘slip up’ and call him Nathaniel or Wesninski. It got to the point where Nicky had asked if they were going to have to take a special trip out to Eden’s with him, but Andrew refused saying he wasn’t worth it. 

Neil finally snapped at their afternoon practice the day before their game against the Ravens. Aaron hadn’t heard exactly what it was Jack said to him, but the look on Jack’s face afterwards as he laid sprawled out on the ground was priceless. Though he recovered quickly and looked ready to jump back up to fight Neil when Kevin approached them. Jack, in his infinite stupidity, actually looked like he was expecting Kevin to berate Neil for punching a teammate. So when Kevin looked down his nose at him and said ‘You will never be worth half as much to this court as Neil is,’ Jack looked like his world had just been set on fire.

Wymack had called practice quickly to an end after that and sent them home with a reminder to remember who the real enemy was in all this. The next day the bus ride to Evermore was long and silent. Which Aaron appreciated since he needed to catch up on some homework, though it probably did nothing to help everyone else’s nerves.

After arriving at Evermore Andrew watched Kevin and Neil like a hawk, and made sure Jack didn’t so much as look at Neil for too long. Aaron couldn’t tell if either of them were in any kind of distress from being here, if they were they were doing a good job of hiding it. At least until they took up their positions on the court. Kevin stared at the Raven’s new starting striker like he was seeing the ghost of Riko stare back, and Neil’s face cracked into a smile that promised pain to anyone who crossed him.

The buzzer sounded and the Ravens came out swinging, literally. Neil’s backliner mark took a swing at him with gloved hand making contact with Neil’s face guard. Neil’s head snapped back with the force of it, and play was called to a halt before the ball ever left the dealer’s racket. The backliner was immediately expelled from the game, and Neil was cleared to play after a quick once over from Abby. 

The rest of the game was just as much of a clusterfuck. By the end of the first half three more of the Ravens had been ejected, and the Foxes were up by one. The Raven’s pushed back hard in the second half, but their anger was making them sloppy. The game ended with a Fox victory, and they got the hell out of Evermore as quickly as possible.

The following week the pressure dissipated and the Foxes were breathing easier again. All around things had gone back to normal, or at least as normal as the Foxes specific brands of crazy allowed. Which meant Aaron was being subjected to Halloween shopping with his family. The Foxes had decided to go to Eden’s again claiming it was tradition now. Aaron didn’t really care what the rest of the team did he was only happy that this year Katelyn and some of her Vixen friends were coming also.

They had already been costume shopping once this week, but without the drugs in Andrew’s system making him manic all the time his patience for it was practically nonexistent. Especially since Nicky was pushing hard for him and Josten to wear a couples costume this year. After about the fifth overly sexualized costume Nicky had tried to force Neil into, Andrew was done. He left the store and was already backing out of the parking spot when the others caught up to him.

Since they got absolutely nothing done on their first trip out they were supposed to be going again today. Afternoon classes had all been canceled for some kind of student fair which none of them had any plans of attending. His shared calculus class with Neil had ended a few minutes ago and he was still waiting for Neil to get his ass out of the classroom so they could walk over to meet up with Andrew, Nicky, and Kevin.

Neil was almost out the door when he was suddenly brought to a halt by one of their other classmates. Aaron groaned internally when he noticed it was the same girl who had been trying unsuccessfully to flirt with him all semester. He could only hope she would be quick about whatever it was she needed to talk to Neil about.

Of course hoping had never amounted to much in Aaron’s life, and today of all days it seemed was the day she finally worked up enough courage to ask Neil out. Though she was being very subtle about it. She kept telling him how she had not done well on her last test and how they should study together, and by study she meant meet up at her dorm while her roommate was out of town for the whole weekend.

Neil opened his mouth and Aaron could only imagine he was about to say something either very dumb or very rude. Instead of letting him say anything at all Aaron cut in. “You’re wasting your time.”

The girl spun around to face him with a surprised look on her face. She clearly hadn’t realized he had been within earshot the whole time. “Excuse Me?”

Aaron huffed at having to repeat himself. “You’re wasting your time.”

“I’m not-”

Aaron held up his hand to make her stop. “Save it.” He didn’t care to hear whatever was about to come out of her mouth. “He’s not into chicks.”

The girl stared at him for a second before spinning back around to face Neil. When he neither confirmed nor denied it the girls face fell. Aaron was so over this. “We need to go now before Andrew gets tired of waiting and leaves us.”

This finally prompted Neil into moving again. As he pushed passed Aaron into the hallway he looked back over his shoulder at the girl and said, “You know they have math tutors. You should probably set up an appointment with one if you’re doing bad.”

Neil turned and left at that, and Aaron allowed himself to watch the girls outraged expression for one second before he followed him out. 

By the time they made it to the car Andrew had already smoked through two cigarettes, Kevin was bitching about historical costume inaccuracies, and Nicky had somehow got his hands on a costume catalogue and was picking out the best ones. Aaron ducked into the backseat and resolved himself for another disastrous trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello,
> 
> So notes for this chapter. I think now that Tetsuji and Riko are gone the Ravens would be more openly hostile. Before they kind of had to act more civil because they were hiding stuff and didn't want anyone digging into them. Now though they aren't hiding anything and Tetsuji isn't there to control them, so they are probably acting like the true assholes they are.
> 
> Also if your wondering why Andrew didn't deck that guy who punched Neil, it's because Renee was in for the first half so Andrew wasn't on the court.
> 
> Thanks for reading


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to saltierthanbottomofapretzelbag for betaing this for me.  
>  https://saltierthanbottomofapretzelbag.tumblr.com/

Aaron was in a foul mood today. If asked, most of his teammates would tell you that was his default setting, but that’s only because they possess the innate ability to piss him off easily. On the other hand, if you asked Katelyn, she would tell you that his shitty mood was not the norm and instead had been building as the days grew closer to the anniversary of the worst Thanksgiving of his life.

As each day of November ticked by he felt as if an invisible hand had taken hold of his chest and was constricting it tighter and tighter. The air was being choked from his lungs, and eventually he was going to explode. It constricted tighter every time a Fox or classmate mentioned their plans for the upcoming break, and at the sight of any exy racket. He was constantly asking himself why had they gone to Luther and Maria’s when Andrew had clearly been so reluctant about it, and why hadn’t he noticed his brother's absence before Neil had frantically dragged him through that house? Maybe, just maybe, if they had listened to Andrew or had noticed him missing sooner, then his dreams wouldn’t be filled with blood splattered walls and the echoes of manic laughter.

His nightmares and memories were bleeding into every aspect of his life, causing his agitation to crash into everyone around him. Just in the past few days he had lost his temper with Nicky when he wouldn’t shut up about how much he was looking forward to gorging himself on turkey. Got pissed off at Matt when he bought a pumpkin spice air freshener for their room. He even stormed out of practice after Kevin had yelled at him for the seventh time to get his head in the game. It wasn’t like he had been purposefully zoning out; it was just hard to focus when every time he swung his racket he swore he could feel bone-crunching beneath it.

Dobson had even taken notice of his deteriorating psyche during his joint sessions with Andrew. In her hands off guiding approach to helping them, she asked if they thought it would be best to put their usual, no holds barred, discussions on pause till after the holiday had passed. Both had agreed. Aaron hoped that meant he could skip out for a few weeks. What was the point in going if Andrew and he couldn’t hash out their issues? But no, she wanted them to keep coming so she could ramble on about how time and stability were some of the biggest factors in healing.

Which, logically, Aaron already knew was true. He could see it anytime he looked at the Foxes. The freshman who were only a few months away from what had caused them to be Foxes were angry and distrustful. Whereas Allison, Dan, and Renee, who had five years of time and distance between who they were then and now, were much more settled. Though that didn’t stop Aaron from feeling like his world was going to crash and burn again and again every Thanksgiving for the rest of his life.

Adding to his rapidly declining mood today, in calculus, he had been handed back a quiz from last week and received a much worse grade than he had been expecting. Now he was sitting at lunch picking through a grilled chicken salad while trying and failing to ignore Neil sitting across from him. Neil’s phone vibrated against the table for what felt like the hundredth time since they had sat down. Each time it had gone off Aaron had felt the vibrations all the way down to his bones.

His clenched his fist around his fork as Neil opened his phone, checked his message, and placed it back down without responding. About thirty seconds later it went off again, and Aaron couldn’t hold his irritation back anymore. “You know people can tell when you’re playing favorites with him.”

Neil blinked up at him confusion written across his face. Which was fair. Even Aaron was surprised by the words that had spilled from his mouth. It hadn’t been what he had meant to say. Yesterday the team had been stuck running endless laps for most of practice; all the while Andrew hadn’t even bothered showing up. Apparently, Aaron was more ticked off by it than he thought. Too late to take it back now.

When understanding finally settled into Neil’s brain, his confusion morphed into a steely stare. “I don’t play favorites with anybody.”

“Bullshit,” Aaron accused. “If you’re not playing favorites then why did you let Andrew skip out on practice while the rest of us had to run extra laps?”

A dark looked crossed Neil’s face, and his fingers twisted tightly together until he forced his hands apart. “Those two things have nothing to do with each other. We had to run extra laps because Wymack was unimpressed with our lackluster performance on Friday, and I do not allow Andrew to do anything. I am not his keeper.”

“You’re the vice-captain. You share a dorm,” Aaron pointed out. He could have mentioned their relationship or how Neil had more sway over Andrew than anyone else, but just thinking about it was bad enough. He definitely didn’t want to breath those words to life.

“I am the vice-captain, but that doesn’t mean I’m in charge of forcing people to come to practice if they have a...”

Neil stopped himself before he could finish that thought and clenched his jaw. He stared hard at Aaron. “Is this your shitty way of asking why Andrew didn’t come to practice?”

Aaron had been ready to argue with whatever Neil was going to say, but that question brought him up short. He hadn’t even meant to bring up his brother’s absence, but it had been weighing on his mind since yesterday. He had witnessed Andrew’s stubborn refusal to lift his racket during practice many times, but could only remember one instance when he had refused to be there at all; last year when Officer Higgins had called. He hadn’t understood then why that call had upset Andrew so much, but now that he did he hoped nothing like that had happened again.

So okay, he did want to know. He also knew it would be pointless to ask Neil about it. Andrew trusted Neil to keep his secrets, so even if he did know why Andrew had skipped practice he wouldn’t tell Aaron or anybody else.

Neil was still glaring but didn’t look like he was contemplating murder anymore as he said, “If you want to know, why don’t you ask him yourself.”

“I thought that trick only worked for you,” Aaron replied scornfully.

“No. If you ever opened your damn eyes you would see it works for Wymack, Betsy, and Renee too. That ‘trick’ works for anybody who asks instead of demanding things from him like most people do.”

Aaron's brow pulled down as he thought about what Neil was telling him. Ever since Wymack had first shown up he made it obvious that it was their choice to join the Foxes or not and he had never once forced them to do anything they didn’t agree to. Renee and Dobson were also always asking, never telling or forcing. Then, of course, there was Neil. Neil didn’t just ask; he had the unfair ability to know how to ask in the exact right way. He also gave equally in return. Something which Aaron had found out Andrew valued almost more than anything else during their sessions.

If it was that simple for them, could it be that simple for him? Could it have always been that simple for him? And if it had where would they be now? If he had understood Andrew better back then would anything like Drake’s attack at Thanksgiving have happened? 

No. As much as the thoughts tore at his mind there was nothing he could to do to undo the past. All he could do now was try and mend things for the future. “I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The messages Neil is getting are from Kevin, who keeps bothering him about the freshman's sucky performances in doing raven drills. So Neil is ignoring him because Kevin is just going to harp on it more as soon as he gets back to the dorm.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanksgiving had come and gone. During the weeks and days leading up to the holiday, Aaron had covertly been watching his brother. He was on the lookout to see if it was obvious in any way that Andrew was being affected by the events of last year. In the end, it had proven to be a pointless endeavor. Andrew’s typical blank expression hadn’t wavered once. The only thing Aaron picked up on that was out of the ordinary was that Neil was a little more hover-y and quicker to snap at anyone who so much as looked sideways at Andrew during those weeks.

Aaron gave up on trying to see anything behind Andrew’s impassive face and instead turned his focus on Nicky. His cousin hadn’t said one word about his parents this year. Aaron knew he was over trying to rekindle that relationship, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still hurting. One day, Aaron had walked into the bedroom to find Nicky holding a photo he had taken with his parents of his first day of high school. He was staring down at it with shaking hands and big fat tears welled up in his eyes.

Anger had swelled up in Aaron’s chest at the sight. Not at Nicky, but at Luther and Maria for what they had put him through. It had made him want to grab Andrew’s lighter and set fire to that photo and all the others, so Nicky wouldn’t have to look at them anymore. Nicky shouldn’t have to be tortured by all those photos of what-ifs. What if he hadn’t come out? What if he had kept acting as if that camp had worked? What if his parents hadn’t been pieces of shit who would rather have a dead son than a gay one?

Aaron had left the room quickly before Nicky realized he was there. He needed to get out before he did something incredibly stupid. Burning Nicky’s mementos wouldn’t make that hurt go away. Instead, he went to find the one person who could help. He explained what he had seen to Katelyn and her best advice was to not set his cousin belongings on fire and to just make sure Nicky understood he was appreciated during this time of thanks. The face Aaron had pulled at her suggestion caused a bright bubbly laugh to escape from his girlfriend’s gorgeous lips. He had to laugh too. They both knew he was no good at expressing himself in a way that didn’t come off as completely assholish. Once they had calmed down again Katelyn told him to just do his best for Nicky.

He returned to his room to do exactly that, even though he had no real idea of how to even start. He ended up distracting Nicky with video games and actually listening whenever he would go on and on about Eric. Though sometimes he would have to put a stop to that because Nicky did not possess the filter that told him what he should and shouldn’t be discussing in explicit detail with his cousin. He wasn't sure if it was enough. If anything he could ever do would be enough, but Nicky seemed to be smiling his normal amount again.

The day before the holiday started The Foxes partied together in the basement. It was a way for them to celebrate their win against the Terrapins and also the closest approximation of a ‘Friendsgiving’ they would probably ever get with each other. After all, copious amounts of alcohol was the only thing that made half the team bearable. The only way you could tell it was to celebrate thanksgiving was because Renee went around and told everyone what she was most thankful for about them. The next morning everyone packed up and left Fox Tower for the week. Nicky, Kevin, Andrew, Neil, and himself spent the week at Abbys and the following weekend in Columbia. Their Thanksgiving meal went about as well as one could expect seeing as there was a dark shadow cast over most everyone's mood. Nicky and Abby tried their best to inject some cheerfulness into the somber room, but it was a futile effort.

Now that the holiday was over and there were only a few more weeks until finals, classes had begun to wind down. It was the second day back, which meant Aaron only had to suffer through three more classes of calculus and shared lunches with Neil. He was totally not counting down the days. Today they sat in a booth that ran along the back wall of the cafeteria. Neither had spoken to or even acknowledge the other. Not after the ungodly amount of time they had been forced to spend together over break. The only sounds coming from their table was the clinking of forks on plates and Neil typing away on his ridiculous flip phone.

After about ten minutes had passed Neil checked his phone once again and his head snapped up in the direction of the door. His eyes locked onto something. Whatever or whoever he saw caused his lips to form into an odd quivering line. As if he wanted to smile but was actively holding himself back from doing so. 

Aaron glanced over his shoulder, wondering who the hell put that kind of expression on Neil’s face, and there making a sedate path towards them was his surly doppelganger. Of course, who else could it have been? He rolled his eyes and turned back to his plate.

Andrew didn’t acknowledge either of them as he slid into the booth next to Neil. Neil silently handed over an extra fork and a large slice of chocolate cake from his tray. Earlier Aaron had found it odd when Neil had ordered the cake since he never ate anything sweeter than an apple. Now he understood why as he watched his brother cut off a gigantic piece and shove the whole thing into his mouth. Neil continued to sit there silently watching Andrew with that not quite a smile, but intense and fond look in his eyes.

After a few seconds of withstanding Neil’s staring, Andrew slid him a sideways glance. He didn’t utter a word, but Neil must have understood the look all the same. He huffed out a breath of air and finally turned back to his own food. Aaron could have almost called that sound a laugh if it had come from anyone besides Neil Josten.

The atmosphere around their table had changed as soon as Andrew sat down, and the shift was making Aaron more uncomfortable by the second. Andrew usually caused a shift in moods wherever he went, but this one wasn’t the normal shift. Neil wasn’t a very expressive person to begin with. He was even less so when he was around only Aaron, but the moment Andrew walked in Neil’s whole demeanor changed. It was very subtle, but somehow also obviously noticeable. Aaron blamed the fact that he had never really noticed how much his brother affected Neil on the fact that he hadn’t ever been left alone with only the two of them before. It was easy to ignore his brother and Josten when Nicky and Kevin were there to act as a buffer.

He cast a furtive glance around the cafeteria. Debating with himself about just getting up and leaving, since it seemed like Andrew was going to continue to ignore his presence. Sadly, all the tables were full, just like always. Since he couldn’t leave without having to abandon his lunch, he did the next best thing and burst the little bubble Neil and Andrew had secluded themselves in. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

Andrew’s eyes finally flicked over to him. Slowly he chewed the piece of cake in his mouth, swallowed, then said, “No.”

Aaron was one hundred percent certain that Andrew should be in class right now. But neither Andrew nor Neil looked like they were going to explain any further. Andrew made quick work of demolishing another bite of cake which reminded him of something Neil had said at the beginning of the semester. “Didn’t you just have lunch?”

This time Andrew didn’t even bother responding. He just raised an eyebrow and licked some icing from his fork. Aaron’s nose scrunched up. Though his question did cause Neil to look back up from his lunch, first over to Andrew then across to Aaron. “He did. I think he is trying to see how quickly he can give himself diabetes.”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth his whole body gave a jolt. He whipped around to face Andrew. “Someone had to have taught you it’s rude to kick people just because you don’t like what they’re saying. Exy can only do so much for the amount of ice cream and chocolate you consume.”

Neil jolted again and scooched back in the booth away from Andrew. “Dammit, stop kicking me.” He reached out and grabbed the edge of the plate Andrew’s cake was on and started to slide it back towards himself. “I’m taking this back if you don’t stop.”

Before Neil could get the plate very far Andrew prodded his chocolate-covered fork at his hand in retaliation. It wasn’t hard enough to do any damage, but it did leave smears of chocolate all along the back of Neil’s hand.

Neil jerked his hand back, letting go of the plate as he did. “Asshole,” he hissed, but it came out sounding much more fond than when most people usually called Andrew an asshole. 

He grabbed a napkin and wiped the chocolate from his hand as Andrew slid the cake back to himself and shoved the last few bites into his mouth all at once. The whole time maintaining intense eye contact with each other.

Aaron wasn’t certain what he was currently having the displeasure of witnessing. If he had to guess he would say it must have been what passed as flirting between Andrew and Neil. Again he desperately searched the cafeteria, but still found it depressingly full. He turned back to see Andrew had deposited his empty plate back onto Neil’s tray and was now staring out at nothing across the cafeteria.

Andrew’s blank stare was at odds with the pleased expression on Neil’s face, and Neil’s own expression was a far cry from the panic and pain that had been in his eyes when Aaron had asked him if he thought Andrew would fight for him all those months ago. It made him wonder when Neil had finally got a fucking clue. Aaron might have been the last to realize something was going on between the two of them, but it had only taken him moments to realize that whatever it was meant a great deal to Andrew. Breaking their deal hadn’t been a painless process for anyone involved, but in the long run it would be for the best.

Neil turned his gaze away from Andrew, and for a brief second it landed on Aaron. The pleased smile quickly fell from his face as if he had just realized Aaron was still sitting across from them. Aaron held himself back from rolling his eyes at his vice-captain. He hoped he could make it through the rest of this lunch without using his own fork to stab someone, most likely Neil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only note I have for this chapter is the part where I mention Nicky's parents rather having a dead son than a gay one. I've made a little hc about this on my Tumblr before also. I think it would have been obvious to Nicky's parents that he wasn't the same when he came back home after they had sent him to the conversion camp. I mean if his teacher noticed his parents had to also. They just didn't care to see what was in front of them, they would rather live in blissful ignorance that Nicky had changed and it wasn't killing him to do so. 
> 
> Nicky had mentioned that he was so depressed he had thoughts of suicide. So what would have happened it Nicky's teacher hadn't offered him the exchange program? His thoughts might have continued till it got so back he acted on them. Maria and Luther probably would have been terribly sad, but Nicky dying as a heterosexual still would have been preferable in their eyes to him living and being gay.
> 
> These are my thoughts based on how it seemed Nora wrote Luther and Maria. Talk to me in the comments if you think it would have been different. To me Luther and Maria are on that irredeemable character list.
> 
> Also only two more chapters to go.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, I love all the support this fic has gotten.  
> You guys are amazing <3


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